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Friday Thoughts 54 - Chinese Teacher's Day

Updated: Feb 6, 2022

Today is the 37th Teacher’s Day in China and, according to Shine, there are a total of 17.9 million of us in the country. Yesterday, some of the buildings on the bund lit up with words of gratitude and blessings. For many of us who have come from the UK, Teachers Day is a new concept; it is not something I was familiar with previously (although both Oman and Qatar also celebrate it). I personally find days of appreciation an unusual idea. I am sure that I have already told you that my dear old dad calls Father’s Day ‘blatant commercialisation’ and something dreamt up by the card shops. Nevertheless, I still send him a card and a small gift! So it got me thinking; why do we have these days of celebration/appreciation? Here in China it is to indicate the deep respect that Chinese society holds for teachers. 


In other parts of the world, World Teachers’ Day is held annually on 5th October and it has been the case since the first observation way back in 1994. It marks the anniversary of the adoption of the 1966 ‘UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers’. I was still at school myself in 1994, and it isn’t something I remember. Having said that, all through my schooling I was sent with a small gift for my class teacher/form tutor and several other key members of staff at both Christmas and the end of the year. Nothing ostentatious, maybe a box of Milk Tray and a card (which I wrote myself), a small token of my and my family’s appreciation. In turn, this got me thinking about ‘Thank You’ cards. Again, every Christmas and birthday, part of our ritual was to write cards to everyone who had brought us a gift and one was sent every occasion without fail. Before we were able to write, it was written for us, and we would write our names and then after that it was up to us. I recall it feeling like an arduous task, however as I got older and started to send gifts to others, the receipt of such a card/note/message was well received and a most heart-warming experience. I am sure that you will have already realised, my parents are traditionalists. They uphold traditions from their childhoods and encourage us to do likewise. I (we) wrote a whole host of thank you cards for wedding presents, taking time to go through each gift in turn and writing a personal note in return. One gift still remains a fond memory; a woollen National Trust travel rug accompanied with lifetime membership. Bearing in mind, we were 23 and 24 respectively, I’m not sure we appreciated this at the time. However, in the card was a cheque and a wonderful message. It said something along the lines of ‘spend this on something frivolous, the other you will appreciate when you’re old’. It was a gift from my godmother-in-law, a straight-talking Yorkshire woman who was my father-in-law’s first Deputy Head and new teacher mentor in Cornwall. To have been a married woman with children and a senior leader back in the 1970s was quite an achievement. An amazing woman, and still the only couple who travelled more than we did as international teachers every year even into their 90s! One day I’ll tell you about the ‘iron incident’ on the cruise. Yorkshire through and through!


So, I have to admit that I really feel for my mom (and dad) when she (they) sends gifts to the children of various people (from step grandchildren to my friend’s daughter to the children of the next-door neighbours) and don’t even get a text/WhatsApp/phone call in return. She certainly doesn’t wish a fanfare or a big deal, but recognition would be much appreciated. I don’t get anything either, but I’m from a different generation and maybe I just expect less.


Back to Teacher’s Day. So, from me it’s thank you for today and every day. I like to think that every day is teachers’ day though because not everyone gets to have such a rewarding career.

Music today – Manchester from the Beautiful South. I’ve been going down memory lane with my ‘random songs that I like’ Spotify playlist. Not one I’m familiar with – the wonders of AI means that it chooses more songs based on the ones I have chosen. We’ve come a long way from mix tapes recorded from the radio…


Have to share that it’s now 4 non-blondes as I am just re-reading.


Happy Friday everyone!

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